


"you?" "me."

by eleanorewrites



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, My First Work in This Fandom, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker is a Puppy, Peter Parker is a softie, i dont know what im doing, some non cannon character actions, this ones for my friends, yuh yeet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2019-10-05 22:41:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17333747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleanorewrites/pseuds/eleanorewrites
Summary: Eleanore and Peter have known each other forever. Or at least since Eleanore and her aunt moved into the apartment above them when she was 5. They have faced trials and tribulations with their friend Ned. Now, Eleanore and Peter will have to face the toughest trial yet, facing the music of how they really feel about each other.She’s always wanted her name in lights and I want her to live that finally, and not have to wait.“I love you, Peter,” she says pulling out of the hug.“I love you too, Eleanore,” I say grinning with content.





	1. you're a curiosity, Parker.

**Author's Note:**

> i plan to post a new part every friday and maybe another time during the week. i hope you enjoy, i worked really hard on it.

I heard a thump from Peter’s apartment below mine.

Our apartments are layed out exactly the same so my bedroom is above his. I reach for my phone and message him, asking if I can come down, as per usual. I hear fumbling down below and get a response “of course”. I lock my bedroom door and climb out of my window, down the fire escape, and into his window. 

He is sitting on his bottom bunk, seeming out of breath. I look at him and laugh. 

“How come you are always making noise down here and always out of breath?”, I say between giggles and him lightly punching my arm.

“Science geek hard at work. I was hiding my project and I don’t want you to see it.”

I take his arm and wrap my arms around it, hugging it, “Peter Parker, you never fail to make me curious.”

He takes me into a loving hug. His arms around me make me feel safe in a not so safe world. My uncle Isaiah died when I was 5ish, and I never knew my parents. My Aunt April and Peter’s Aunt May have been friends since as long as we both can remember, therefore we have been friends so as long as we both can remember. I laid down onto his bed and sighed.

“Spider-Man is a mystery I want to solve. Who is he? Why is he doing this? Is he even a he? Is he single?”, he scoffed at the last question. He laid down next to me and looked at my face, causing me to blush. I cover it.

“Peter, I know you think this obsession is childish and all for naught but I have a real feeling I can get something from this,” I sigh, sitting up.

He sits up next to me and puts his hand on my back sweetly.

“Elle, come on. You know I support you 110% in this ‘search for Spider-Man’. But, please don’t go searching for love in him. Who knows, you could find love in the place you’d least expect.” I laugh a sad laugh and look away.


	2. only for you, Vincent.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i know i may not have the way peter speaks and acts down perfectly but i am trying

I had no idea what I was trying to say to her. For god’s sake, I’m Spider-Man. I’m in love with her. ‘Don’t go searching for love in him’, really Peter? I pull her into a hug in an apologetic way. I whisper apologies into her curly hair. She smiles and pulls away, punching my arm.    


“You’re such a softie sometimes, Parker,” and I smile at her.   


“Only for you, Vincent,” and she laughed that heavenly laugh.    


A knock came from the door, “Who is it?”, and I hear Ned’s voice from the other side. 

“Come in, Leeds,” Eleanore yelled. 

Ned walked in, seeing me and her sitting side by side. She scooted away a little bit and I felt her warmth leave me slightly. Cold New York winters are made warmer by just her smile. Ned sat in my desk chair and started telling some story we’ve heard thousands of times. Elle swung her legs across my lap and I put my arms around them. She giggled at something Ned said and I snap back to reality. Ned looks curiously in my direction, questioning my shocked expression.  Elle looks at me and whispers "Parker, are you okay?" and I nod.

"I was just thinking of something to do with my project," I give them both a dismissive smile. 

"What is this mysterious project you've been spending so much time on?" Ned asks suggestively.

"It’s a surprise for Lady Eleanore Vincent's sweet 16," I say booping her nose, noticing her blush at the action.

"Peter! I told you not to get me anything!" she said while hitting my arm. 

"It's the least i can do after what you did for my birthday, this watch has been handy in more ways than you can know," I say motioning to the smartwatch on my right wrist. 

"It was nothing. Really." 

Ned rolled his eyes at us. "Are you two done flirting now?" We both blush at the statement. 

The night continued with Ned, Elle, and I watching some docu-series on Spider-Man that Elle found. Ned gave me concerned glances several times, knowing damn well that I am that 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' she is fawning over. She falls asleep with a smile on her face and her head on my shoulder. I pick her up and place her lightly on my bunk. She snuggles into the warmth of it as I cover her up. I plant a small kiss on her forehead and climb out the window to do my patrol. Ned left hours ago and knowing her she might just leave when she wakes up, so May doesn’t suspect anything. I do my duties as Spider-Man and swing back into my bedroom window. Elle has not moved and it’s nearing morning. I climb to the top bunk and try to sleep. 

I am wide-awake but faux sleeping when Elle climbs to the top bunk and curls up next to me.  Something that has become habit for her when she sleeps over. I pull her close to my chest and feel her body curl into a ball against mine under the blanket. My heart is pounding and I thank Odin that she is asleep and can't hear it. I plant more kisses into the mess of hair next to me. I somehow manage to sleep.    


When I wake I notice Elle is no longer next to me and I have a message on my phone from her. It reads, “sorry i had to leave so early, April has been on me a lot recently, had to get home before she noticed i was out past curfew. See you at school, Parker x” I smile at the x at the end. Small gesture but big meaning. I get changed out of the sweat pants and Harvard sweatshirt I was wearing (courtesy of Mr. Stark), into regular clothes, bundling up for the New York winter that awaits me. 

Elle catches up to me to ride the train together, skipping happily down the hallway, smiling. She turns around and grabs my hand making me run with her. I bask in the feeling of our fingers intertwined.    
  



	3. me? Spider-Man? pft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this isnt friday, but finals

I grabbed Peters hand and ran to the train excitedly.

“PETER THEY’RE DOING A SPIDER-MAN SHORT FILM CONTEST AND I WANT YOU TO BE MY SPIDER-MAN” I practically scream in his face out of excitement. He seems shocked and confused. 

  
“Me? Spider-Man in your short film?” he said sounding astounded. 

  
“You. Spider-Man in my short film. I know you can do it Peter, besides it’s not like you’re really him and being in the suit will expose your identity,” I say laughing and walking onto the train, Peter behind me. We somehow magically sit next to each other.    


“Yeah,” he scoffs, “me, Spider-Man in real life, as if PFT” 

I laugh and put my head on his shoulder, we just listen to music and read or do work for the rest of the ride. We arrive at our stop finally, get off, and walk the rest of the way to school. We talk about the details of the film and when we should start filming. 

“Uh so, my friend, Ben, remember him?”

  
“Yeah he’s the kid always composing something new that you always talk about, right?” 

“Yeah! He’s going to do some music for it,” I say delightedly. 

  
Peter just nods his head and tenses up when we see Flash on the steps to the school, terrorizing some random kid. I immediately want to run up and stop him but Peter stops me, holding me back. 

“Just walk calmly by, you’ve managed to stay off his radar this far, if you try something now, you might be that kid next time,” he says smoothly and calmly.

  
I huff and just walk past the situation sadly. 

Peter slouches beside me  making his tall figure as small as possible. 

Our lockers are next to each others so we reach them at about the same time, shoving our stuff in, in practical unison.  I shove my heavy coat, scarf, and gloves into my locker placing the scarf in the gloves into the pockets of the jacket. I close my locker and watch Peter struggle to fit his coat among the other miscellaneous things in his locker. I reopen mine and take his jacket from him putting it into my locker. He mutters words of thanks and grabs something out of his locker and shuts it.

I walk with him to our first period, study hall in the computer lab. I start to write the script for the short film with Peter humming and fidgeting with something diligently next to me. I get lost in the universe I create within the script. 

My focus isn’t broken when the bell rings. It’s only when Peter reaches over and touches my shoulder that my focus is gone, that boy makes me a mess sometimes. I look at what I wrote and save it, smiling at Peter waiting for me like he always does and we part ways, until lunch, once we reach my next class. Peter and the film are stuck in my mind.

Why is Peter on my mind? 

I brush it off but the feeling of his hand in mine is stuck there. 

I get my lunch, the usual, and sit with Peter and Ned. We discuss the film and Peters involvement and Ned looks at him curiously, and Peter shrugs it off. 

Peter and I sit next to each other, so I scooted closer to him. I sensed his alarm when he felt my leg pressed against his. He eased into the feeling of closeness while we talked with Ned.

Ned laughed along with us, not noticing the fact that me and Peter were sitting so close we were practically on top of each other. 

Peter put his hands down onto his legs wiping them off. He relaxed them next to mine and it took every ounce of my being not to grab his hand. 

Why do I want to hold his hand?

It felt so right when I did this morning.

I slip my hand next to his hooking my pinky with his. He looked at me with those big, brown puppy dog eyes and I melt like ice.

We smile at each other and Ned coughs loudly, breaking the eye contact between us. I snatch my hand away from his and pat down my mess of hair awkwardly.

“Why don’t you two just get together already, Jesus!?” Ned said wiping his mouth.

I instinctively scoot away, getting nervous and laughing. 

“You know my kind of man,” I sigh, “Spider-Man, the masked crusader,” I say very dramatically, throwing myself jokingly onto the table. 

“You cast Peter as your Spider-Man in your film thing.” Ned said pointedly, and I get off of the table, straightening my sweatshirt. 

“Uhhhhh,” I look at Peter awkwardly, “I have to get to my next class, I’ll see you both there.” I said trying to collect my things but Peter grabs my arm.    


“I’ll go with you, we need to talk anyway.” He said handing me my things and then grabbing his own. 

We walk awkwardly together not really saying a word. We were the first ones to class since lunch still had 15 minutes left. We sit in our seats by each other and he turns to me as I pull out my laptop. 

“Elle, you know we need to talk about what Ned said,” Peter said looking slightly like a hurt puppy. 

“Not right now, Peter. I don’t know what I’m feeling but it’s sudden and terrifying,” I open my laptop and open the script. 

“Elle,” Peter put his hand on my tense shoulder.

“Peter, let’s start going over your lines. I’m going to be Gwen, the main female lead. You’re ‘UNNAMED IDENTITY’ aka ‘Spider-Man’,” I say heavily. 

He looks at me and then starts reading the lines. 

The scene is an intense one of Spider-Man coming to terms that he can never have a normal love life because of who he is. Gwen and him argue about her love for him and him not accepting it. Gwen knows about his identity and loves him anyway. After we finish the scene me and Peter look at each other, both of us with tears in our eyes.

I wipe my eyes quickly as the bell rings and more students filter in, including Ned. 

 


	4. listening to symphonies.

I shift uncomfortably in the stiff chairs in the bleak English room. I think of what just happened between me and Elle as me and Ned work on analyzing some old story.

 

I zone out and Ned does the work for this class by himself while I am lost in contemplation. 

 

 

The bell signifying the end of the day arrives with such sudden noise that I practically have a heart attack. I grab my stuff and wait by the door for Elle and Ned. Ned goes to his car and me and Elle walk to the train station.

We once again magically get two open seats next to each other. She sits on her laptop editing that wonderful script of hers. 

She gets off in front of me. I walk behind her, cautious of how I act because of Ned. Damn it, Ned, you shouldn’t have said that. She turns around to face me and walks towards me, eventually walking next to me.

“Ned was right,” she whispers. I’m not sure I was meant to hear it. 

Just to be sure I wasn’t meant to hear it, I ask, “Huh?” and she looks at me with those big green eyes. 

“Nothing,”  she says, a hint of sadness softening her usual sharp wit. 

I hook her pinky with mine, like she did to me at lunch. She smiles at me, her veil of sadness fading subtly.

We walk to my apartment and sit in the living room. Eventually, I decide it’s time to show her her birthday present.

She follows me back to my room, but, I shoo her back to the living room. It takes some time, but, I eventually wheel out the display.

 

She’s always wanted her name in lights and I want her to live that finally, and not have to wait. 

She sits in awe, waiting for it. 

“Confession, I didn’t build the  _ entire  _ thing myself. Mr. Stark helped, said it could be part of my internship,” I saw her eyes light up at the mention of Mr. Stark's name. 

I pull back the table cloth that was covering it and flip a switch so it lights up. It’s a Broadway style marquee of her name written in her mother’s version of cursive. Stark helped with that part, he had them custom made by some guy. I built the marquee display with his help too. She practically jumps onto me, her small frame leaping from the couch into my arms.

She thanks me what feels like a million times. Hearing her saying my name over and over is like listening to the symphonies her friend Ben sends her. We stay like that for a while, hugging each other tightly. I felt her shaking, I can’t tell if she is crying or just happy.

 

 

“I love you, Peter,” she says pulling out of the hug and calling me my first name, signalling how serious she is.

 

 

“I love you too, Eleanore,” I say grinning with content. 


	5. waiting for a hero.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eleanore

Peter and I stand hugging in his living room after he showed me the present.

“I love you, Peter,” I say as I pull out of the hug, trying to soften my serious tone.

“I love you too, Eleanore,” he says grinning that goofy smile I have grown to love.

I stand 2 steps from him and look up to him, like always. He takes one step forward as the apartment door opens and I take a large step back. May walks in holding her purse and I turn towards her, hands removed from Peter’s and now shoved in pockets. 

“Eleanore! It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you conscious in this apartment,” she says laughing and hugging me. 

“Hi, May,” I say blushing at the comment about my consciousness. “I was just about to take my present back my place.” 

“And I was going to help her,” Peter said stepping towards me. 

“I’m fine, Peter, I’ll message you telling you I got it home safe,” I say looking into those puppy eyes again, restraining myself to stop from kissing him. 

I grab the marquee, it being lighter than I expected, lifting it higher than I meant to. I walk out, Peter and May waving at me. I carry it up the stairs, regretting not going up the fire escape. 

I arrive home, hearing the TV blasting Aunt April’s soaps. I open the door and walk to my room, the marquee now feeling heavier than before. I set it on my desk and turn it on, and grab for my phone. I panic as I don’t feel it in my pocket and noticing my backpack is gone too. 

I hear a knock on my window, looking up to see Peter grinning while holding my bag and phone. I open the window and let him in.

“Did you forget a thing or 2, or a backpack full, when you left so quickly?” he said teasingly. 

I snatch my phone from him and tell him to put my bag on my bed. He walks towards me, stopping two steps away.

“Where were we before May came home? About here?” he said taking a step forward and looking down on me. 

“I was about to do this,” I step forward and look up at him, feeling his breath on my skin. 

He places a hand on my face and I put my hand on top of it, leaning into it. I go onto my tiptoes and feel his lips against mine.  I lean into it happily, losing my balance, forcing him to have to lean down.

“What are you doing to me, Peter?” I say looking curiously into his eyes placing my hands on his face. 

“I could ask the same of you, Elle,” he looking back into my dull green eyes and kissing me once more. 

We stand in each others arms for the second time today. Peter looking down at me with curiosity and love in his eyes. 

“I need to go, I told May I’d only be a minute,” he says, a hint of sadness in his soft voice. He kisses me once quick and climbs out of the window, closing it behind him.

I lay on my bed, brushing my lips in disbelief of the events that just happened. I close my eyes and drift off.

 

 

I wake up, checking the time.

 

2am. 

 

I get lost in my thoughts and pull on a sweater. I go to the fire escape to see Peter. I knock on his window and look into the dark room, when I don’t get a response, I sit on the cold fire escape and text him asking where he is at this hour. He doesn’t reply but, I find myself staying there. I start to drift off when I hear a  subtle  _ thwip _ above my head. I look up to see, to my utmost shock, Peter swinging toward me wearing the suit of the masked crusader I’ve been obsessed with since he first arrived. 

I see shock on his face as he tries to swing away and I jump onto his back. He swings desperately trying to get to safety. He eventually swings back to the fire escape we originated off of. I get off of his back and look in hurt and confusion into his big brown eyes. 

“Eleanore, I can explain,” he says frantically.

I just shake my head and continue to stare at him. 

“You? It’s been you, this entire time?” 

“Me. The entire time. I am so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, God, I wanted to,” he steps forward to put his hand on my face and I step back and run into the end of the fire escape.

“You were different than I wanted you to be. But you’re what I needed you to be. Who cares what you do in the dark of the night, in the light of the morning you’re mine,” I say quoting my script, tears flooding my eyes.

“Peter, why didn’t you tell me, you can trust me,” I clutch my sweater closed tighter, as if it would help against the cold of a New York winter.

“I couldn’t trust myself, Elle. ‘All I want is for you to be safe and sound, waiting for me when I get home.’ I couldn’t risk telling  you, unsure of your safety,” he quotes, swiftly, right back to me. 

He takes 2 steps towards me and grips me close to his chest, but not before I saw the tear rolling down his cheek in the dimness of the old, gray moon’s light. I shake in his grip, happy and upset all at once, a flurry of emotions. 

He opens the window and pulls me in with him. 

“Stay here tonight, please,” he said holding my hands in his. 

“Fine,” I say bluntly and walking away.


	6. who'd you expect?

As I change into my pyjamas, I feel my hands shaking. She knows now, Peter. No more hiding, time to put your soul on the line. 

When I re-enter the room, Elle is sitting in my desk chair waiting patiently. 

She wasn’t meant to be on that fire escape.

 

“I don’t  know who I expected the amazing Spider-Man to be, Peter, just not you,” she said dramatically, while lying her head on my chest. I laugh feeling her head rise and fall with each breath.

“Why not me?” I said looking at the ceiling. 

She lifted her head off my chest and looked at my face, brushing a few strands of hair away from my eyes.

“Because, I don’t know, maybe I expected it to be Flash, for some reason,” she said innocently and I scoffed a little.

“Why that jerk?” 

“He just seemed like the type who would want to fight criminals, even though he is pretty much one himself,” she said laying back beside me. 

I sigh and put my arm around her, bringing her closer. 

 

I can’t remember when we fell asleep but we talked for a while, about me being Spider-Man and about nothing else in particular. I woke up the the glaring sun, checking my watch. 1pm. May is at work, despite it being a Saturday. I get up, careful not to disturb Elle, except to kiss her cheek. She looks so precious when she is sleeping. I go to the kitchen to make something to eat, careful not to make eggs because she doesn’t like them. I made pancakes and sausages.

She walks out of the room, stretching and yawning. She walked up behind me and wrapped her short arms around my waist. I turn to face her and lean down to kiss her as she goes onto her tiptoes, causing me to bash my nose into hers. We laugh at our awkwardness as we both rub our faces. She reaches behind me and grabs a sausage, taking a bite of it and smiling with delight.

“I didn’t know you were a chef, Parker,” she said giggling. 

I wrap my arms around her, “As it seems I might be a bit of the mystery man you wanted me to be, huh?” She laughed at me.

There was a sudden and sharp knock at the door. We stop and I stop her from moving going to the peephole. I look into it seeing Ned with a backpack full of something. I look back at Elle and mouth, “Ned”. She quietly tiptoes to my room, hiding the fact we spent the night together. Once the door is closed, I open the door to Ned’s smiling face. 

“Ned, dude! What are you doing here?” I say awkwardly rubbing my head.

“Seriously, Peter, did those guys bust up your brains or something?” He shakes the bag at me. “Elle’s party set-up?” 

“Shit,” I curse under my breath, knowing she could probably hear from my room, unless she left.

“They must have, Ned, cause I completely forgot. You can start without me. Let me get dressed and I’ll be out to help,” I say while I’m already at my door about to open it. I look back long enough to see him shovel a few sausages into his mouth. I close the door quickly behind me. I turn around and see her sitting there.

“Okay, Elle, go get dressed. Ned and I are working on your party set-up, so act surprised please?” I whisper, flashing the big brown puppy dog eyes that I know will get her to surrender.

“Fine,” she smiles and kisses me quick. She walks over to the window, climbing out and up the fire escape. 

I get dressed faster than I think I have ever gotten dressed and walk back into the living  room. I look up to see that Ned has put streamers on the ceiling and hung up the banner. Lying lazily against the beige wall, bright yellow letters spell out “Happy 16th Eleanore”. I smile and look to Ned, who has moved on to blowing up balloons, some but not all with helium. 

“Finally, I thought you had died in there. Who were you talking to?” Ned said curiously.

“May called to ask how the set-up was going,” I smile and start helping by blowing up balloons with helium. 

Ned just hummed and turned on some music using a speaker he had hidden somewhere. I get up and clean up breakfast, putting some in a container and placing it in the microwave to keep it warm, so Elle and I might finally get to eat it together. I put the dishes into the dishwasher and start it.

 

About 3 hours later, we are done setting up and people start arriving, all except May, who allowed the party only because it was for Elle, and promised not to ruin it. The one person I didn’t expect to show up that did though, was Flash. Ol’ reliable Flash Thompson, except the only thing you can rely on him for is being a dick. I walk to the door as he enters.

“Flash, why are you here? You weren’t invited,” I say defensively.

“Come on Penis, a party, and you expect me not to come, especially when it’s for such a pretty girl,” he said, obviously referring to Elle. 

“Don’t you dare go near her,” I lower my voice threateningly.

“Or what, your buddies Spider-Man and Tony Stark are gonna show up and kick my ass?” he said laughing and shoving past me, into my home. 

Stark was going to show up, but as a surprise for Elle after she gets here. As if on cue, I feel my watch buzz and check it, Stark is at the window. I run to my room and let him in, going back over the specifics of the surprise. Ned knocks and then comes in, almost dropping his drink when he sees Mr. Stark. I run and close the door shutting out the noise of the party and telling him to keep it a secret. 

I go up to Eleanore’s door to get her for the party. She opens it and my god she looks absolutely stunning in that outfit. It’s a dress which is totally out of character for her, but I love it. She kisses my cheek and grabs my hand. We walk down to the party.  I texted Ned to say that we were coming, so they could hide and turn off the music, even though she already knows but he doesn’t know she knows. 

She unwillingly lets go of my hand when we reach the door. I open it, letting her walk in behind me as I open the door for her. I flip on the lights, which also triggers the music. They all jump up and yell surprise. Once she greets her friends and even regards Flash with a false happiness, I message Stark. I announce that there is one last surprise left for this party and she kinda glares at me. Everyone circles around us as I hand her a box.

“Surprise its a box,” she laughs as she opens it, her face falling out of shock when she looks inside and back up at me. 

"You're fucking joking me, Peter," she said her voice devoid of jokes.


	7. saturday nights ain't about romancing anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen i hate myself for the end of this chapter and maybe the few chapters to come,,,, dont hate me. also, next chapter is finna be long and intense. or maybe the next few.

Inside of the box Peter handed me is a paper saying that my application to Stark Ind. as a creative designer was accepted. 

“You’re fucking joking me, Peter,” I say, my voice low and dead-serious.

I jump into Peter’s arms nearly knocking him over.

“That’s not all,” he said pushing me lightly out of his grip and placing his hands on my shoulders, turning me towards his door. 

I see the knob turn and who else would walk out but, Tony fucking Stark. 

“Welcome to the team kid,” he says smiling at me. Tony Stark, smiling, at me, at my party. 

Everyone is shocked. So much so that Ned turned off the music when we turned towards the room. I feel weak on my feet as I hear Peter whisper, “Thank you, Mr. Stark,” in his direction. 

Flash bursts through the crowd, seemingly furious. 

“You actually know Penis Parker?” he had the audacity to say to Mr. Stark. 

“Yes, I know Peter. He is a brilliant kid. So is Eleanore, from the looks of her portfolio,” he said walking towards Peter and I putting his hands on our shoulders. I start shaking. 

I look at Peter and whisper in his ear, “I could kiss you right now, brilliant boy.” 

Stark steps back and gets bombarded by questions. Peter turns toward me and puts his hand on my face. 

“Why don’t you?” he asked stepping forward causing me to go onto my tiptoes and pull him into a kiss. I take a fistful of his shirt and pull him closer. The cheering of our friends is drowned out by the sound of fireworks. I pull away from the kiss with a silent, “Happy birthday to me”. 

There is the sound of a slamming door, I see Flash’s coat tail as it slams.

“There he goes,” I say laughing.

Ned walks up to us sighing heavily, “Finally.” 

“So when did this start? I know it wasn’t just now,” Ned said half laughing, half scoffing.

“What do you mean, that was the first time,” I say looking down and blushing.

“Yeah and I met Queen Elizabeth,” he said.

“Last night,” I say bluntly, realizing the lie wasn't gonna work with Ned, he’s like a walking lie detector sometimes I swear.

 

I feel my dull eyes getting brighter as the night goes on and I dance with Peter. Mr. Stark left hours ago, some work thing. I dance in Peter’s arms, only leaving them to say goodbye to people on their ways out. And, if I am being brutally honest, I was a bit tipsy. Peter didn’t want alcohol in the apartment because of May, but Flash’s friends brought some, and I drank. Because, fuck it, it was my birthday after all. I dance with Peter and feel weaker and weaker the later it gets. 

 

I eventually wake up in Peter’s arms. I can’t quite recall when we fell asleep, or why on the couch. I stand up, careful not to disturb Peter, but quickly kissing him on the forehead. I tug on  the edge of my leggings, noticing a tear in the knee, I sigh heavily. 

I sit on a stool next to the counter, rubbing my temple. The apartment is a mess, so I pick up a little bit. After a while, I search for my phone. I move blankets and find it in Peters hand. Unlocked. I look at what is open, my text messages. 

I walk to the bay window and sit in it, hugging my knees to my chest. I look at the top text, one that was open but I hadn’t seen. Flash Thompson, read the name at the top with a photo I took of him for a project, years ago. 

“ _ Hope you’re happy with Penis Parker. Don’t even try to respond, your number will be blocked by the time you read this.” _

I take a sharp breath in. I hope he’s happy knowing why I’ve stayed off Flash’s shit list for as long as I have, we’re friends. Or at least were. 

I grab all of my things and rush to his room to go home through the fire escape with tears in my eyes.  I slam his bedroom door and his window on my way out, hoping he hears it.

I throw myself onto the bed and blast music. The line  _ saturday nights aint about romancing anymore  _ sticks in my mind, because how fucking ironic. I guess Saturday nights are about snooping on phones. After a while, I pull myself together and make a brash decision. 

 

After a little bit of contemplating if it was right or not, I get showered and changed. I grab my phone for its GPS and walk out of the building. I jump onto my bike and pedal as fast as I can. 

 

I drop my bike after stopping and take a deep breath in and out. I take a large step onto the stairs, staring at the carved piece of wood that I’ve grown familiar with. I run my fingers along the curved letters before resting my hand in a fist on the door. 

I knock lightly, but firm at the same time. 

The door opens and I’m confronted by the taller boy. 


	8. UPDATE - NOT A CHAPTER

__**Hi, so i am currently still writing this next chapter, it is long but i hope you guys can stand to wait!**  
  
_**thank you all so much for the support so far. i hope i dont disappoint. the next chapter is wild though, cant wait for you to read.** _


	9. well, well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, a shock is had. 
> 
>  
> 
> guess who?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> longest one yet, fun.

I lie on my bed, glancing at my phone every once in a while, half-regretting what I said to Ellie. I hear a sharp, sudden knock and am jolted from my twisted daydream of being Peter in that moment last night. I trudge down the stairs, not knowing who the fuck is at my door. I swing open the door aggressively. I look at who it is and practically laugh.

“Well, fucking, well. Look who the cat dragged back,” I practically spit towards her.

“Flash, please, I’m sorry. Please let me explain,” she says, stepping into the doorway. She is close enough for me to smell her heavenly scent of lemons and strawberries. I step back from her.

“You don’t have to explain that you’re sleeping with the biggest loser in our school,” I spit at her, regretting it immediately.

“I’m not sleeping with him!” she screamed so loudly I heard it ring off the walls. “I’m no- I love him,” she whispers, so softly that it was hard to hear.

“Ellie, I’m sorry. I di-” I reach up to touch her face. She slaps my hand away.

“Don’t you fucking dare touch me,” I see tears in her eyes. I want to wipe them away, but I restrain myself.

I can tell she is shaking when I suggest that we sit and talk. She pulls her cardigan closed tighter and shifts her backpack uncomfortably.  We walk to the living room. She sits on the couch as far away from where I am as possible. The way she smiled, last time, felt like sunshine was here to stay, now it’s all storm clouds and tornadoes.

She takes off her backpack, Peter Pan themed, her favourite because she always wanted to fly away. She starts moving some things around and pulls out my blazer that she borrowed a few times. She places it onto the table between us.

“Ellie, I- I didn’t mean what I said in that message, I didn’t block your number. I wanted to see if you would call me or try to text back n-not just fucking show up, no warning,” I said placing my hands onto the blazer picking at the hems. She laughed sadly and looked down at my fidgeting hands.

“You know I’m one for dramatics,” she said softly, her sharp voice from before softening by a lot. “Damn it, Flash. Why do you hate him so much?” she lightly pounded the table, out of, what I can only assume is, frustration and anger.

“I-I,” I stutter, my voice breaking.

“Not so fucking tough now are you, Thom-I mean, Flash,” she said, harsh once more and standing up.

She grabs her bag and starts to head towards the front door to leave. I reach out and grab her arm, which she rips away from me. My fingers slipping off of the sweater. She whips around.

“I said don’t fucking touch me, not until you fucking explain,” her face reddens as she gets more visibly upset.

“Ellie, I don’t hate him. It’s ju- I,” I struggle to find the right words to say without upsetting her. “I guess, I’m jealous of him. Jealous of the fact that he of all people got the Stark internship. Jealous of th-the fact that-,” I feel the tears come to my eyes. I curse under my breath and wipe my eyes. “You really want to know, Eleanore?”

“Yes. I do,” she crosses her arms, spitting the words in my direction.

“He got to you first.”

“What?”

“He got to you first. You fell in love with him. Not me. And I don’t hate _him._ I hate myself for not telling you sooner. I jus-” she cuts me off with a hand held in my face.

“You’re fucking with me, Flash. Stop fucking lying,” she said aggressively. “You don’t love me. You just don’t want me to be with Peter. You’re angry about the internship, that’s true. But you do not love me. Fuck, I don’t even think Peter does anymore,” she opens the door and I watch her walk away.

I hold my hand out to try and stop her and say something, but I croak. She looks at me, picks up her bike, and rides away. Just like she’s done a million times, so why the fuck did it hurt so much now.

I walk back to the door, pausing in the doorway. I whip around and slam the door, yelling. I run up the stairs to my room, punching the wall. I feel tears well up in my eyes and I blackout, punching the wall once more.

 

When I come back from the blackout, my room is a mess, clothes and trophies thrown about. New formed holes in the walls and door. I wipe my face and assess the damage to my knuckles. They’re bloodied and raw. I walk to the bathroom and wash my hands. I open the cupboard and find the first aid kit. I wrap my fist and put everything back in order. I go back to my room and clean up. Covering the new holes with extra posters I hadn’t hung up yet. I sit on my bed and have a choking feeling in my throat. I cough to try to rid of it, but it persisted. I yell at the top of my lungs, which finally does the trick.

 

I grab my phone and look for his number, knowing I had it because I put it to use earlier in the week. I press the call icon, praying he answers.

“Hello? Who is this?” his voice is like diving into a cold swimming pool.

.

2 beats pass until I am able to speak.

.

“Peter? It’s Flash. Can we- Can we meet up to talk? It can be a public place if you don’t trust me. But I have no ill intentions,” I said softly into the phone, my voice not sounding like my own.

“Housing Works. An hour,” Peter said sharply, and then hanging up.

 

I take a shower and change my clothes, because if Parker saw me like this I would die. I mean, it’s not like I care what he thinks, but he could ruin my life if he saw me like this. I grab my wallet and keys and run out the door into the garage. I open the garage door and start my car. As I shift the car into gear, I think about what the hell I am doing. What do I even want to talk to him about? Eleanore? I could never. I can hardly face her as it is, but if i went to him about her, she would make me regret ever sending that message. As if I don’t right now.

 

I reach the café, it was sort of what I was expecting, the classic bookshoppe café. Of course Peter would be somewhere like here. I park my car, take a deep breath, and open the door to get out. As I get out, I text Peter, “ _I’m outside, I’m not a ‘smoky french café’ man myself but okay.”_ He replies saying that he is in the old english section. I shove my phone into my pocket and walk in, searching like a mad man for the old english section.

Once I find it, I see Peter sitting at a tiny round table reading a book and drinking a large coffee.

“P-peter?” I said, almost scared of his reaction.

His head shot up, seemingly shocked that I actually showed up. “Flash, jesus. Hi, I guess? Is that how you greet the dude that has terrorized you for so long that you can’t remember the last time you felt joy in going to science?” he said so smoothly, I couldn’t tell if he was serious or if he was joking.

“Peter I-” he cut me off.

“So tell me, why the hell are we both here?” he said sharply, cutting the tension.

“I want to apologize and talk to you about something,” I said sheepishly, showing him that I genuinely meant no harm to him.

“Apologize for the years of torture. You know, I wanted Midtown to be an escape, an escape from _**YOU** ,” _he practically spits at me.

I shrink back away from his venom.

I stutter through the rest of the apology, and he listens intently.

When I finish, he just stares at me, dumbfounded.

“You’re serious about this aren’t you?” He asked, his brow furrowing.

“Of course I am, I wouldn’t lie anymore than I already have,” I said, my faith in myself shaken to the core.

I sip the hot tea I got, carefully. I spill some down the front of my shirt. I look down at the dark stain starting to spread along my shirt and curse. Peter stands up and heads towards the counter to get me napkins. He comes back and when he goes to help clean off my shirt, it takes all of my will to not make fun of him or push him away.

“Make sure you soak that in bleach when you get home,” he says caringly. He pats my back and laughs.

I smile, easing into the situation finally.


	10. wait, wait.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, we see possible forgiveness, and a fresh new face who's name could spell trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REWRITE OF "FORGIVENESS, COULD YOU IMAGINE?"

As much as I found this situation strange and unsettling, I enjoyed it. Being around Flash and not having him torture me was new and a bit alarming. We finish our drinks and leave, Flash zipping his coat all the way up to hide the stain from his tea. We part ways and I walk to the subway. 

 

I am walking head down and zoned out in my blaring music, when someone barrels towards me. I bump into them, removing my earbuds and looking up. I start to apologize when I look into the dull green eyes that I call home. 

“El-eleanore, hi, where did you go this morning? I wanted to make breakfast for us, and have us eat it this time, not Ned,” I chuckle. She looks at me as if I’m some alien. 

“Peter, do you think I’m dumb? I found my phone, in your hands, unlocked, on Flash and I’s messages. Guess you know why I’ve stayed off of his shit list so long, but thats over I guess,” she says sharply.

I look back down and then up to the sky. She scoffed and shook her head. She started to walk away when I grabbed her arm.

“Eleanore, I’m not mad at you for being Flash’s friend. Me and him talked today. In fact, I was headed back to your apartment to talk about it,” I suffered through her death stare while I spoke.

“I feel like you’re just bullshitting me.” 

“Of course not. Eleanore Vincent, I love you. I would nev-” I am cut off by her slamming her dragging me away.

“Where are you even headed?” I asked curiously. 

“Stark called me. First day, first impressions. You know the feeling,” she looks up at me.

“I should come with you. You know, help him make some stuff, and all that jazz,” I put my arm around her, she shrugs it off, maybe wait a bit after a fight before trying to go back to old ways. I walk towards the subway.

“Stark sent a car for me. It’s like right there,” she laughed, nodding her head towards the blacked out car waiting across the street. 

I walk with her to the car. I flash the driver my ID so he would let me come along for the ride.

 

We arrive at Stark Tower. Elle stares up and her jaw drops in absolute awe. 

“Holy fucking shit,” she whispers. “I am about to go inside of Stark Tower.  **_The_ **  Stark Tower. I wonder if I’ll see the lounge where like you’ve probably hung out with like the Avengers and shit. Oh my Freya,” she is breathing heavily, like she just ran a marathon. I don’t confirm or deny her suspicions. At risk that she might drop dead.  

I lead her to the door, placing my hand on her back, which she allows. When we enter, I unwillingly drop my hand and have her follow me to the front desk where a woman, perhaps in her late 30s early 40s, smiled at me and asked who Eleanore was. She politely introduced herself and the woman, whose name I now remember is Jane, typed an extension into the phone and whispered something about a kid named Keller. “Take a seat right there. Birkenholtz will be with you in a minute.” She pointed to the overly plush seats next to the desk. We walked over there, though Jane said I could just head up to the lab, but, I insisted on staying with her, much to Elles dismay. 

  
  


A kid who looks around our age walks out of the room behind the desk. Elle stands up as he starts to say her name, “Eleanore Vincent?” 

“That’s me!” she said enthusiastically, but also visibly shaken. 

He stretched out his hand, “Keller. Birkenholtz,” he looked her in the eyes and looked starstruck. She gripped his hand and shook it. He moved his clipboard slightly towards me. 

“Pete! What’s up dude!” He said slapping my hand and pulling me into a hug.

“Just here to help Mr. S with some things. And help show Elle around,” I grin, placing my hand on the small of her back. 

“Right this way then,” he said as he turned and headed towards an elevator. 

“I will show you the main floors you will be on. But first, Mr. Stark wanted you to stop by his office. He is in a meeting with Miss Potts, just so you know,” Keller said smiling. I thought she was going to drop dead at the mention of Pepper.  

Keller lead us to the staff elevator and we got on, and shuffled off when we reached Starks office floor. He looked down the hall to check if his door was closed, which it was. He walked cautiously towards it and knocked.

“Who is it?” Starks voice came, muffled by the door. I look at Elle and see her eyes widen at the sound.

“B-b-birkenholtz, with the new employee,” he said fumblingly. 

“Ah, yes. Come in!”


	11. an assistant of sorts.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, we see her from a new perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, this has all taken so long. i've been having a rough few months. i will try harder. sorry if i've disappointed anyone with the slow updates.

I shuffled into Mr. Stark’s office, Pete and the new, interesting Eleanore following behind me. Mr. Stark looked up from the papers Miss Potts was showing him, at the sound of the door.

“Pete! Good to see you.. and Eleanore. Showing her around with Keller, I assume?” Stark says, cocking his eyebrow, curiously smiling at Pete.

“Of course, Mr. S! Nothing more, nothing less,” Pete said smiling at him and Miss Pots.

“Keller, continue Eleanore’s tour, would you? Peter, stay here. Miss Potts and I need to talk to you,” said Stark, changing his smile to a firm face that is hard to describe.

“Of course, sir!” I said nervously, looking to Eleanore to follow me.

She smiles at me and walks behind me. I heard the soft padding of her boots behind me and I smile at the comforting sound.

“So, Eleanore,” I start.

“Oh, please call me Elle. But, continue, sorry,” she said, apologetically smiling at me.

“So, Elle,” I start again, smiling at the sound of her name. “What did Stark hire you for?”

“Creative design internship,” she said picking at the binder she was holding. “Stark told me to bring a portfolio of sorts. So yeah.”

“I’m an assistant of sorts, if you couldn’t tell,” I said, my face reddening at the thought of being bossed around by someone in front of her.

“So, how do you know Peter?” I asked, not mentioning the tension I felt when they were sat in the waiting area. Her face flushed a light shade of pink.

“We’re, uhm. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers basically,” Elle said shyly.

“Oh, I see.”

I continue walking next to her, matching her pace. I lead her to her office.

“Why are we in here?” she said walking in and spinning around nervously.

“This is your office. You did know you had an office, right?” I say, slightly laughing.

“My office? Seriously? Mine,” she said nervously.

I motion towards the name card on the desk that smoothly read “ _Eleanore Vincent”._

“Jesus, my head is spinning,” she said and went to sit in the chair behind the desk.

“That’s what I’ve been saying pretty much all day,” I mutter quiet enough so only I hear.

I tug on the loose strings on my sleeve and adjust my sweater. We soak in the silence for a while and just look around Elle’s new office a bit. I give her some information that she will need for her time here. She gawks at the tablet in the desk, equipped with all the art programs she could ever need, and more.

Her eyes brighten and she looks happier than I know how to describe.

“So, I said I was sort of a assistant?” I say embarrassed of what I was about to say.

“Yeah,” she said, glancing up at me, her eyes confused.

“Well, I am sort of your assistant,” I said, clearing my throat slightly so I don’t choke on all of my swallowed pride.

“Pf, I don’t need an assistant.”

“Stark thinks you do, and so, here I am,” I look at her, only to have her laugh in my face.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No,” I say lowering my voice.

“Oh, my Freya,” she stands up. “Keller, oh my Freya, I can’t boss you around like people do with assistants. I can’t. I hardly even like telling the waiter at a restaurant that my food is wrong or something,” she starts walking towards me.

I somehow manage to stumble even though I am standing still. I find myself on the floor, laughing at my idiocy. She picks up her pace and holds out her hand.

“Are you okay?” She said sweetly.

“Yeah,” I say, smiling up at her and taking her hand. She helps me stand up and I brush myself off with my left hand.

I hear her stifle a laugh and look down and notice that I still have a hold of her hand. I pull it away and stifle a laugh myself. She smiles and turns around. She places her hands into the pocket of her yellow hoodie , which I now see says ‘ _broken dreams club’_ on the back. I smile at the thought of her living her dream while wearing it.

  


I am packing up what I need to take home to work on, when I feel a light tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see Elle standing there, smiling in her big coat.

“Hey, I was going get some coffee or hot chocolate at Housing Works and wondered if you wanted to come. I think Peter will be there, but he might be busy,” she says smirking as if she is hiding a secret.

I smile generously at her, “Oh, yeah! Are we taking your car or?”

“Pft, I don’t have a car, I usually take the subway or someone drives me,” she said kind of nervously.

“We can take my car! It’s a bit of a walk to the subway from here.”

“Oh! That sounds okay!” she smiled. I finished grabbing my things and proceeded to walk to the car park.

 

We arrive at the car and when Elle sees it she beams. I look at her.

“What?” I look at the slightly beat up ‘67 Impala.

“This is like my dream car,” she said absolutely fawning over it.

“It’s not that cool, it was honestly cheap but its reliable,” I laugh and lovingly pat the roof.

I unlock my door, get in and then reach over to unlock her door. She is still beaming as she opens the door and slides in. I tell her to toss her bag in the back and she does so. She lovingly runs her fingers along the dashboard and the detailing along the edge of the seat. I reached over to put it into reverse and as I do so, I feel her delicately running her fingers on the detailing. My hand lands on top of hers and I quickly pull away, both of our faces flushing. I look down and when she drags her hand off of it, I reach over and put it into reverse and we go.

 

The silence in the car was not awkward but, comfortable, the quiet music soared and fell. We reached Housing Works within 10 minutes and we get a decent parking spot.

I helped Elle out of the car, opening her door for her.

She grabbed her bag and got out. We walked into the small coffee shoppe. She leads me back to a small corner area, sets her bag down on the floor and hangs her coat on the backside of a chair. We then walk two 2 sections over to order our drinks. All the while talking about work and how her first day went.

Once we are handed our drinks, she leads me back to the small corner. I look around.

“What section is this supposed to be?”

“Modern poetry,” she said stretching to reach a yellow book towards the top.

The book looks battered, like someone has read it a million times. She sets it down and reached back up and grabs a similar book, but in blue. I pick up the yellow book, it reads in simple small text “ **_Her Favourite Colour Was Yellow_ ** ” by Edgar Holmes. There was a small rose on the cover. She places the blue one down, “ **_For When She’s Feeling Blue”_ **also by Edgar. The same rose was printed on the cover, this time in white.

“Edgar Holmes?” I asked questioningly.

“Uh, yeah. These books were from my grandpa to my grandmother. I never met her,” she said looking sadly down into her hot chocolate.

She stirs it slowly and goes to open the tattered books.

I see spots where wet dots have dried. I look at her understandingly. I reach my hand out for hers. I place my hand on top of her free one.

She doesn’t pull away but she also doesn’t ease into it. She looks at the pages.

 _“I’m afraid of growing old, knowing that I lost a love as powerful as ours, the only thing that made life meaningful”_ she read calmly and evenly. I see the tears starting to form in her eyes, which she quickly wipes away.

“Elle, I-” I get flustered and forget my words.

“Keller, can you take me home?” she said, still looking down.

“Yes, of course. Anything, Elle.”

We both gather our things and she places the books back on the shelf.

 

She gives me the address and I pull up the gps. She places her hand on the middle console resting it on mine. She blushes and pulls away. I place my hand back on the wheel and she places her hand back on the console. I turn up the music and _Polygraph Eyes_ by Yungblud plays through the speakers. She smiles and sings along. I place my hand on top of hers on the console, she flips her hand and grips mine. I smile.

 

I park in front of the building.

“Do you want to come in?” she says, voice wavering.  I smile nervously, and nod my head. I could see the unease in her eyes.


	12. i wanna be..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, she wants to be anything but what she is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: abuse
> 
> i have been writing more and more so expect longer chapters. this chapter is a bit of a doozy sorry.

I take nervous steps up the stairs, praying Peter is still gone. I pull out my keys and fumble trying to find the right one. I finally unlock it and go to walk in, when I hear the blaring of the TV . 

  _Fuck. April._

I stop Keller in the doorway and tell him to wait a second. 

 

I step cautiously into the living room, illuminated by the television alone. 

“Hi, April,” I say nervously, nearly tripping over my words. 

“Eleanore Mariah Vincent, where the hell have you been?” she yelled as I winced, knowing Keller heard her. 

“I’ve been at work. I told you that.” 

She rose from her chair, towering over me causing me to shrink back. She rose her hand and it landed on my cheek with a distasteful  _ thwap.  _ I felt the tears start to well up but I held them back as she started yelling again.

“You filthy liar, you were probably whoring around with Peter.”

“W-what?”

“I found his shirt in your damn room, you whore,” she said as she raised her hand and brought it down with more force than the last one. The sound echoed as I fell to the ground from the sheer force. 

I heard the thudding of shoes running through the door and I look up and see Keller. April’s face twists like she had eaten a million lemons. 

“So it wasn't Parker’s, it was his, huh?” Keller starts to pull me to my feet.

“April, no just stop please,” I screamed in response, the tears falling now.

Keller grabbed my arm and tried to rush me out when I am suddenly whipped back. The ripping sound of my shirt was the only sound for a second. I reach back and feel that the back of my shirt is stretched out and the sleeve slightly ripped at the seams. 

“Keller, just go,” I hug him quickly and  whisper, “pull around the back, to the fire escape. If I’m not out in 10-15 minutes, leave and call the police.” 

I pull away and he nods, glaring at April.

Once he leaves, April shoves me to the ground and kicks me in the ribs. I spit at the force of the kick. I crawl away into my room. I use the door handle to pull myself up. I stumble and clutch my stomach. I slam my door closed and lock it. I grab my duffel bag and start shoving as many pieces of clothing into it. I shove important things into my bag, including a picture of Uncle Isaiah and I. He is lifting me in the air in a flying pose. The smile on his face is radiant. I smile with tears in my eyes.

 

I finish packing my things. I look down the fire escape and see Keller standing by his car. I smile. I slam my window down and climb down the escape. Huh, fitting name. I throw my bags down first and then I jump down. I practically collapse at the jolts of pain. Keller crouches down and helps me stand.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" he asked, looking concernedly.

"No, not for now at least. When Peter gets home I'll stay with him."

"Stay with me for tonight, okay?"

I nod through the pain. I slip one of my hands from his arm into his hand.

 

He drives for a little bit and we arrive at a small house in a quiet neighbourhood. I smile looking at it. The house was two stories tall. A window on the second floor was dimly lit by what I assume is a candle. There is a beautiful garden in the front lawn, lit by a few solar powered lanterns. I smile and look back to him.

 

I take my backpack which has very little of my clothes in it, seeing as I'm only staying for a night. I follow Keller to the front porch and admire the quiet neighbourhood as he unlocks the door. I enter the quiet house behind him. He turns on the light switch and shows the small living room.

"Do you live here by yourself?" I asked curiously, running my fingers along the detailing on a bookshelf.

"Yeah, I got kicked out when I was 15," he said, placing his bag on a kitchen stool.

"Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm tired and sore," I reply weakly.

He scoffs jokingly, "yeah." I smile.

"Where can I lay down?"

He smiles, "This way, Miss Vincent."

I follow him to the second floor. He leads me to the bedroom at the end of the hall, the one whose window seemed lit by a candle. He opens the door and I find the source of the light, a small desk lamp, haphazardly left on. He turns on the overhead light and the room illuminates with a white glow.  The room appeared to be his, a backpack thrown haphazardly down onto a messy bed. He seemed to glide across the room and turn off the light, while simultaneously closing a notebook.

"Oh, Keller, I can't take your room. I can sleep on the couch. I-"

"No, you cannot. you're hurt. The couch will only make it worse," he said, cutting me off softly and sweetly.

"I don't want you sleeping on the couch in your own house."

"I will blow up an air mattress and sleep in here then."

I uncross my arms in feigned defeat. I am about to argue when I feel a soft head brush up against my hand. I look over and see a small siamese kitten. I melt and start petting her. The sudden presence of the cat cut all the tension from between me and Keller.

"She is such a cutie, whats her name?"

"Meredith, as in Meredith Stepien. It is the name of this actress from this silly thea-"

"StarKid! I love them. Meredith is amazing."

"You know StarKid? That's amazing."

I smile and laugh at myself and this situation. I place my hands on my forehead. I feel a slick spot near my hairline and pull my hand away. My hand is shiny with a red substance. I stand up and start to freak out.

"Hey, uh, where's your bathroom?"

"First door out to the righ- Oh my, god Elle are you okay?" he springs from where he was seated with Mer on his lap. He rushes over and leads me to the bathroom. 

He hands me a towel and I press it against my head to stave off the bleeding. He wets a paper towel and removes my hand and the towel and wipes the blood away. I look in his eyes as he crouches down to my level where I'm sitting. He slows the dabbing and looks back into my dull green eyes with his bright blue ones. He pulls his face away from mine, rising and throwing away the now red paper towel in one swift move. 

 

I change into shorts and my Midtown tank top. I search desperately for my sweater, sitting on the bed and sighing in defeat. 

"You okay?" Keller said entering the room, walking in the little space left after the air mattress was blown up. 

"Yeah, I just can't find my sweater. I could have sworn that I put it in my bag." I sigh.

He walks over to his dresser and pulls out a purple Champion sweatshirt and extends it to me. I reach for it and he pulls me carefully, into a hug. I wrap my arms around him in response. I breathe in the scent of his body-wash, orange creme. I smile and he pulls me closer, I wince at the pain in my stomach but remain in the hug. 

"Thank you, Keller."

"It's nothing, Elle.¨ 

We pull out of the hug and I slide on the sweatshirt. It's a little big and the sleeves hang past my hands, probably from all the tugging he does absent-mindedly. I smile at the thought of him listening to a lecture from Stark and tugging on his sleeves and picking at the loose strings. I look up and our eyes lock. He walks to the door and turns off the light. I lay on his bed, that he freshly made with new sheets, though I insisted otherwise, he had said he just washed them. He had put the old sheets onto the air mattress. I smiled as he fought with the fitted sheet. I looked at him and asked if he needed help. He scoffed and says no, but I insisted. After finally getting the sheet on, I let him finish putting the rest of the sheets on himself. 

As I lay in his bed, I stare at the remnants of glow in the dark stars on his ceiling. I grin and grab my phone. I aim the camera towards the ceiling and shoot. I take a few more shots and then check them out. The soft glow of the stars showed in the pictures. I saw tiny details that I hadn't noticed before. Small planets surrounded the stars. I smile and try to sleep.

At some point I got off the bed and laid by his side, taking my covers with me. His arm had been laid lazily over me, I pull the covers tighter and moved closer to him.


	13. waving through a window.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, he knows a lot more than we think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not as long as the last one. but here we go.
> 
> also double post wowowowowow go me

I woke up and found Elle curled up with Mer on the air mattress with me. I smile down at her. I scratch Mer's head lightly and I feel her purr. I get dressed and brush my teeth. 

As I'm spitting, I look over to the trashcan and see the paper towel from last night. I feel dizzy and clutch the sides of the sink. I clumsily reach into the cabinet and grab a bottle of my pills. I twist off the cap lazily and let it fall to the floor. I haphazardly pour 3 of the small pills into my hand. I get some water and take them. I wait a minute before trying to bend down and pick up the cap to the bottle, knowing that if I tried to earlier, I would have fallen and been hurt. Speaking from experience.  

My head is still spinning but I manage to pick up the cap without falling. I hear a stirring in the bedroom. I stand up and walk in there. 

“Good morning, Elle,” I smile at her. She is beautiful even when she has just woken up. It takes all of my might not to dive on to the air mattress and kiss her this instant. 

“Good morning, Keller,” she smiles back a goofy tired smile before yawning. 

I walk over to the speaker and connect it to my phone. I start playing _“_ ** _I wanna be_** _”_  from **_Starship_** and she beams. She starts quietly singing along.  

“I love Joey Richter. His voice is so smooth,” she trails off. 

“Yeah,” I smile along with her. 

I take my phone with me to the kitchen, connecting it to the speaker in there. She follows behind 

and pulls subconsciously on the sweatshirt I gave her last night. She looks so cute in it. She gets on her phone and seems shocked suddenly and jumps up from the stool she was sitting on. 

“Shit, shit, shit” she muttered. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I have a few texts and missed calls from Peter. I told him I was gonna be here for the night.” 

“I’m sure he will understand, Elle,” I reach my hand up to put it on her shoulder. She gets up before my hand reached her. She jogs to the bedroom and starts packing her stuff. 

“Elle, let me help,” I say handing her her clothes from last night, still slightly bloodstained.

“I sent him the address. He said he’d be here in 10 minutes.”

“Enough time to eat. Elle you need to calm down, it is not like anything happened between us,” I blush realizing my contractions have slipped away and something of an accent was starting to show. 

“Okay, fine.” She takes a deep breath, and brings her bag into the kitchen with us. 

 

A few minutes later a knock on the door shocked me into dropping the eggs off my fork. Elle giggled slightly at it. I blush and go to open the door. 

“Peter!” I say slapping his hand and pulling him into what he dubbed the “bro hug”.

“Keller, hey, is Elle okay?” He sounded happy to see me but also very concerned at the same time. 

“Yeah. She is fine, she’s” I emphasize the contraction to make it clear, “in the kitchen eating.” 

“Thanks for taking care of her, Keller.”

“It i- it’s no problem! Anything for a friend.”

Peter walked into the kitchen and Elle jumped up and hugged him. I glanced in and as soon as I saw him kiss her, I was in the bedroom within a seconds time. 

I look down at my feet. I was standing on the air mattress. I step off, careful not to fall. I sit on my own bed and rub my temple. If Elle finds out she would hate me. She’d hate who I am, what I am. I need to remember why I was sent here to Midgard. Protect Peter Parker at all costs. Mr. Stark can’t stand more days like what happened after the snap. I am here to protect him from that. 

I am pulled out of my spiraling thoughts by a light knocking on my door.

"Keller?"

I look up and see her in the doorway holding the sweater in her hand. I smile and stand up. We meet in the middle of the room. She hands me the sweater and pulls me into a hug. I smile into her hair.

"Thank you, Keller"

"Anything for you, Ms. Vincent."

She pulls out of the hug.

"For the days when you cannot find yours," I say, handing the sweater back to her.

She smiles.

"I'll see you at work, Starship Ranger."

Her and Peter leave and she waves through the window at me and I wave back.

 

Once they were gone, I go inside and deflate the air mattress. I gather the sheets and put them in the hamper.

When I move the deflated body of the mattress, I see a yellow blob on the floor. I pick it up, revealing it to be Elle's sweater that she was searching for.

I smile, her faint scent of peaches and cream was left lingering in my bedroom. The peach smell increases as I neatly fold the sweater.

I take the folded sweater and tie it neatly with a piece of twine. I place it in the passenger seat of my car and drive to Stark Tower.

 

I arrive at the tower, seeing Happy and Tony rush out. As Tony rushes past, he looks me in the eye with a look that pleadingly said "look out for Peter". I ask Jane if Peter is here. She checks and tells me he is in the lab. I nod and rush to the elevator and head to the lab. I look at the sweater in my hand.

 

The elevator opens and look around to make sure no-one is nearby. I arrive at the lab in a second's time.

I slightly tap on the door to the lab. He looks up from the web shooter that he was fixing and sees me.

"Hey dude!" he said, walking over and bro hugging me.

“Hey Peter.”

“I thought Mr. Stark was supposed to be here to help me today. He was gonna help me with my web shooters and making them mo-” 

“He had an emergency meeting at the compound I guess.” I say cutting his geeky rambling off.

Peter wasn't an unattractive kid and his rambling just kept making him more attractive.

He smiled sadly, probably disappointed he was left out. He nodded with understanding. I place my hand on his shoulder and squeeze. 

“Hey, it’s fine, I can help!” 

“What do you know about this kind of tech?” he scoffed.

“A lot more than you think I do.” 

Peter and I work until we hear a knocking and look up.


	14. what the fuck?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, something is amiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is shorter in preparation for the next chapter, because, exposition galore.

Keller and I look up from the web shooter we were tinkering with. 

“Elle!” I stand up off of the stool and practically run over to her.

“Hi Elle,” Keller said quietly behind me.

I pull Elle into a hug and kiss the top of her head.

“Hi Peter. Hi Keller,” she said, her words muffled by the fabric of my jacket. 

“Are you feeling any better, Miss Vincent?” Keller said walking over as we broke the hug. 

“Yeah, a bit. May gave me some painkillers.”

Keller hands her the twine tied sweater he came in with. They both held on and kept eye contact a little longer than they should’ve. 

“I found it when I moved the air mattress. It must have slipped out and we missed it when I set up the mattress.” He smiled.

“Thank you again, Keller. For everything,” she said, advancing and hugging him. 

“It was nothing, Miss Vincent.”

“Just Elle, please,” she said smiling as if she had pointed it out before.

“What are you doing here Elle?” I asked practically begging for the exchange between them to be over. 

“I actually came to look for my ‘assistant of sorts’,” she said smiling and slightly laughing. 

“Well here I am,” he said laughing. 

“I have some papers Mr. Stark wanted. I, uh, don’t know where and how to give them to him.” 

“I can help you with that,” he said. 

They left with silent waves and murmured byes. I sit and keep fiddling with the web shooters.

 

After a bit of messing with the formula I have managed to get a shorter lasting web. I test them several times. They last for about 15 minutes this time, a new record. I revel in the victory and go to the training room to try and see how much my skill has improved. 

 

The elevator to the training room opens and I see Natasha knock a man 3 times her size on his ass and laugh. I must’ve seen her do it dozens of times before, and it never gets old. 

I hear a laugh join me, but it wasn't near me. It seemed like it was in the room with Natasha. 

“Are you sure you are not also a god, miss?” I hear a subtly accented voice say, which I assume is Thor.

I peek into the training room and say hello to Natasha. I look over and see the source of the laughter and voice, Keller, sitting and laughing as the guard Natasha knocked down glares at him.    
“Hey, Nat!” I say, disregarding the feeling I have from Keller being here. 

“Hey, kid! Zo-” Keller glares at her, “Keller here was just gonna help me train, wanna join?”

“Sure,” I said very skeptically. 

I strap the web shooters to my wrists and take my hoodie off and prepare to spar Natasha. Just as I’m about to start sparing her, Keller takes the place she was meant to be in. I stop.

“Him?” I say pointing at him and Natasha nods. “Okay then.”

I start the second Natasha demandingly whistled. I aim and shoot his hand. The shot seemed to be a second late though. The webbing lands instead on Nat who was standing sadly in the way. She didn’t expect it and it bound her arm to her side. 

“Seriously, Peter.”

I look up to see that it had landed there as I see Keller suddenly next to me. He wasn't there a second ago. I go to block his punch but it was too fast. The fist lands against my arm, not to firmly though. I shoot a web toward the ceiling and jump but Keller catches the webbing mid flight, leaving his fingers stuck to each other. I look in amazement.

 

Nat joined the spar against Keller soon after he caught the web. An hour passes of rigorous combat, alternating between, Nat and I against Keller to me against Nat. I was able to beat Nat once or twice. I was never able to beat Keller once. I gather my things and leave with Keller. 

I stop Keller directly before the elevator and confront him. 

“What the hell are you? Who the hell are you?” 

He stutters and seems to panic. 

“I’m Keller, you know me Peter. Did Nat really hit you that hard? She said sorry,” he said, chuckling dryly. 

“Don’t fucking laugh, I’m serious. What the fuck was that?” I say, aggressively motioning to the training room we just left from.

“I-fuck. Okay. I can’t lie anymore can I?” 

“No you fucking can’t” 

“Fine. Let’s go somewhere else, and see if Tony is back yet, first.” 

“Fine.” 


	15. the time has come hasn't it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, the iron man crumbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't nearly as long as i would like. but i feel like its really quality??? enjoy x

I look up from my arm that I was so tenderly nursing. I see Keller and Peter standing in the doorway. Peter first, seemed pissed like the angsty teen he has never really gotten to be. The second he saw that I was wounded, his mood completely changed. He rushed to me with the worried disposition he wears so well. 

“Calm down, Underoos, I’m fine.,” I pull him into a hug and kiss the top of his head. 

“Mr. Stark, I am so sorry, I think he needs to know now.. We just came from the training room where we spared.. Miss Romanoff, dragged me into it.” 

I place my forehead in my hands and sigh.

“Damn it,” I whisper to myself. 

“Well, Pete, the day has come hasn’t it?” I say forcing a weak smile..

“I guess it has,” he said, with him arms defensively crossed. 

I pat the seat across the desk from where I am now sitting. I sigh and pull some papers out of my desk and place them on the desk. 

The file says  _ “Peter’s Protection; Zoran” _ in big bold letters.

Peter looked sad and defeated. It broke me in more ways than words in our language can explain.

“Peter, after Titan, I never wanted to see you hurt or in danger ever again.” I felt hot sticky tears rise to my eyes. I willed them away. I look into his big puppy dog eyes. I see Keller fidgeting out of the corner of my eye. I continue.

“As you have probably found out by now, Keller is not who he seems. He is Zoran. A god. The god of speed to be specific. He has been a representative for Asgard here on Earth for many millennia, at this point.”

Peter looks at him in disbelief, shaking his head. “You’re fucking with me.”

“Peter Benjamin Parker, watch your fucking language,” I say feigning anger. He looks at me shocked and kind of scared, until I start laughing. Soon the tension was dissolved by Peter, Zoran, and I’s laughter. 

I continue. “Zoran was one of the first people that came to me to see you after Titan. He vowed to protect you no matter the cost, even his own life, if need be. He has been with you on every watch and mission since then. He was scared for you to find out who he really was, so we continued to keep his identity a secret, under the guise of K.B. a teen boy with a troubled past who went to school with you and Miss Vincent.”

“I continued to be your friend. That part was never a lie,” Zoran said with a sweet smile.

Peter sat with his head cradled in his hands. He laughed slightly. 

“So Keller, or Zoran, or whoever the hell. You’ve seen all the stupid shit I’ve done while on patrols?” 

“Yeah.” 

Peter dissolves into laughter, Keller joins him. 

“You saw the web writing fail then?” 

“Yes. It was a sweet attempt kid.” 

I watch them bond over things they never expected to. I grin sadly yet with pride for both the boy and Zoran.

Peter stands up after a bit of explaining what happened. I stand with him and before I know it, he is hugging me tightly. I hug him back. I feel his warm breath soak through my shirt and I feel large wet tears. I hug him tighter fighting back tears of my own. I close my eyes and hear the door close.  I open them and see Zoran is gone. I close my eyes again and keep hold of the kid in my arms. The tears I tried fighting slip out and I adjust my grip on Peter. 

“I love you so much, kid. I am never going to ever let you go ever again. I fucked up. I am so fucking sorry,” my voice betrays me and cracks, exposing my tears. “I’m sorry.”

I continue the sorry pantomime long past the tears exit the scene. Peter is clinging to me for dear life. I feel every one of his hitched breaths and hiccups. I pull him out of the hug. 

I take one look at his face and I nearly lose it again. I repeat myself, stumbling, “I’m sorry kid, I never meant for you to get hurt. I love you. I never want to see you hurt. Please don’t do anything dumb,” I pull him back into the hug, kissing the top of his head many times.

The kid and I stayed in that position for a long time. After what seems like ages, I plant a kiss on the top of his head, and ruffle his hair. 

“Now don’t you go telling your friends that you made big boss man Tony Stark cry,” I say laughing as I wipe my face. 

“I would  _ never, _ ” Peter says, laughing. 

The kid and I laugh for a bit. We discuss whether or not Zoran should stick with him and decide only on the harder nights. He won't be watched every second now while he is watching out for us. 

Peter leaves and I sit and think.

Peter Benjamin Parker is a brave kid. I don't know how the hell he does it. I know he isn't always strong. But hell. He's a tough kid. He breaks, but then again, we all do. Even fucking Iron Man. I don't know what I'd do without this kid or hell, what'd he do without me. I'm not leaving this kid alone again. 


End file.
